


But You're Not Alone

by MotherofVampires



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Not Beta Read, Platonic Relationships, Supportive Avengers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23284537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MotherofVampires/pseuds/MotherofVampires
Summary: Leah is overwhelmed by latent emotions and subconscious insecurities. She's suffering and needs those closest to her, but how can they help when they don't even notice she's gone?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers & Original Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes & Wanda Maximoff, Wanda Maximoff & Original Female Character(s), Wanda Maximoff & Steve Rogers
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	But You're Not Alone

**Author's Note:**

> This is an unedited quick drabble I just needed to get off my chest. I've been struggling with depression creeping up on me and this little snip was a way for me to process and cope with the fact I have just some really shitty friends. Characters are from my fic Winter's Shield but there's no spoilers or anything. I just needed an outlet and these characters answered.

A long and heavy sigh lowered Leah's shoulders as she watched the sun descend on the horizon. Chin resting on her knees, she couldn't run from the weight threatening to bury her; the unseen scars flayed open, questions once thought answered roaring in her ear. What more did she need to do to be seen? How much more would she need to break before her silent screams of desperation reached the ears of those she needed most?

A tapestry of orange, pink, and gold hues danced in the fractured reflection of the small frozen shelter surrounding her; a physical shield from the demons plaguing her mind. A tear slipped down her cheek unopposed, settling against the edge of her sleeve. Would they notice if she left? If she took a single step off the rooftop, would they see her fall?

"Oh yes, something is definitely wrong." An unexpected but familiar voice came from behind the frozen wall. 

"Wanda, what are you doing here?" Leah stiffened, rubbing her cheeks as though she could hide the pain overflowing from her eyes.

Wanda cocked her head before ducking inside the small structure and sitting beside Leah. "My best friend went missing, what do you think I'm doing here." She paused, surveying the glass-like walls. "What's going on, Leah?"

Leah scoffed, refusing to meet her gaze. "I don't know. Nothing. I'm fine." She sniffed, blinking back the tears blurring her vision.

"You realize I can read minds, right?" Wanda turned her head. "You're my best friend, I know when something is bothering you, so you can tell me or I can get inside your head and find out for myself."

A chuckle slipped through Leah's pursed lips. Wanda had many strong traits, her stubbornness among the strongest. But putting the storm in her head into words? Where to begin? "Do you know what it's like to be in a room full of people and feel completely alone?" She stopped, the tremble in her voice threatening to break. "To have so many people say they care and not a single one notice when you're screaming for help?"

"Leah."

"Have you ever been so overwhelmed that you feel like you're drowning? And you're crying,  _ begging  _ for anyone who said they cared to see you?" Nostrils flared, her teeth sank into her lower lip. "What is so wrong with me that even after everything I've done, I'm still so easily overlooked? Am I  _ that _ broken?"

Wanda's brow knit together as tears broke through, Leah's body shaking as she hugged her knees tighter against her chest. 

"I have been up here for six hours, Wanda, and it's only after dinner headcount that my absence was noticed. A fucking empty chair. I'm so tired of being broken and bleeding, unable to breathe as I watch every cry for help land on deaf ears." Too weak to hold her composure, a sob escaped. "Words are so damn easy for everyone; it's so easy to make promises when you don't plan on keeping them. I wish HYDRA had kept me frozen, or let me die, or...or-" 

Overwhelmed by the wave of anger and pain crashing down, Leah buried her face. Nobody was supposed to see such weakness, such vulnerability, but the strength once holding her broken pieces together faded with every second. The fight that once burned in her spirit had become a flicker battling the ravenous darkness waiting to consume what little she had left. Knowing how little worth seh carried in the eyes of those she craved carried more agony than anything she suffered in battle. She wanted to be needed, she wanted to be seen, she wanted to  _ matter _ .

A soft hand slid across her trembling shoulders, Wanda's creased brow pressed against Leah's temple. "Leah, you're not alone."

A second set of arms wrapped around Leah's curled form, a damp and bearded cheek pressing against hers. "You are more loved than you could possibly know." Steve's voice reached her ear, his tone laced with heartbroken sympathy.

A third pair of hands held her arms, brow resting against the top of her head. "Don't you ever wish that, Darlin'. Don't you ever wish that." Bucky's hands gripped her tighter. "You matter more to us than you could possibly imagine. Look at me," his gentle touch shifted her tear-stained cheeks, lifting her gaze. "You matter. Do you hear me? Whatever voice is telling you different is a damn lie. We're family here, we need you here."

"Whatever made you think we could be the same, live the same life, without you in it couldn't be further from the truth." Steve pushed a strand of brown hair behind her ear. "If we had known, if  _ I _ had known, you were up here because you were hurting, I'd have been right here next to you. It's not that we don't care, Leah, sometimes we just miss what we're supposed to see. It doesn't mean we lied or don't care about you."

"When you hurt, we all hurt." Wanda forced a chuckle through falling tears. "But we're human. I know we can't always fix what's wrong, but that doesn't mean we don't want to be there for you. Even if it means sitting in an ice fort on the helipad watching the sunset, you don't have to hurt alone."

"None of us do." Bucky glanced to Wanda, his soft blue eyes pulling Leah from the depths. "I'm sorry you're hurting, and I'm sorry if anything we did caused it."

Keeping his arm around her, Steve leaned forward to draw her emerald eyes. "We're here now, and we love you. We need you here, Leah, life would be way too boring without you."

An unexplainable calm settled in her chest; the truth in his gaze silenced the voices commanding her mind. They were here, they came, not because they needed her powers or because they were talked into it, but because they noticed. They heard her silent cries and  _ chose _ to answer. 

"God, why are you guys so sappy?" She laughed, wiping the remnants of tears from puffy eyes. "I just wanted to watch the sunset."

Pulled to each of them, they hugged her close, Steve and Bucky each kissing her brow. They each shared a unique bond, a different sort of love that wove the four of them together. They were right, this was more than friendship, they were the family she had prayed for; they were exactly what she needed. She wasn't alone, and she never would be again. 


End file.
